Outdoor Activities:
Rock Climbing
Getting Started
There are many different types of climbing to choose from depending on what interests you and the environment in which you live. Bouldering is a great option if local cliffs are not readily available. Armed only with a pair of slippers and a crash pad (a thick portable pad to land on in case of a fall) one can ascend any boulder and go as far as your own limits will take you.
Bringing friends along as "spotters" adds safety and creates a social setting. Bouldering is a great way to experiment with your technique of movement over rock. To begin to feel some exposure, climbing single pitch routes with ropes can be exciting. A pitch is usually about sixty to eighty feet high or half a rope length.
Top-roping these areas are a good way for beginners to learn skills necessary to have a safe and enjoyable experience. Skills acquired from bouldering and cragging can expand your playground, perhaps into multi-pitch climbing or even bagging a summit that involves technical rock climbing terrain.
